But if you need more proof that Republicans have given up the ghost on checking Trump, look to Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio on Anderson Cooper's show Monday night. When Jordan dodged Cooper's question about whether the president lies, the CNN host deployed a groundbreaking strategy known as The Follow-Up Question. The result was mesmerizing:

Of course he didn't. But Jordan, like pretty much everyone else in his party, is terrified to cross the president in public. He's one of the most right-wing members of Congress—a standard-bearer for the so-called Freedom Caucus—who represents a preposterously gerrymandered Ohio district. It is drawn to be deep red. So Jordan's only priority is to come off as conservative as possible, lest he face a challenger on the right even nuttier than him. In the Trump era, that means marching in lockstep with the president, who still enjoys strong support from the party base.

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Jordan is probably an extreme example because of the incentives imposed on him by his district. But no one in the Republican Party has shown the least bit of courage in opposing Trump's behavior, perhaps because they're getting what their donors want on taxes and deregulation—and maybe, soon, cuts to the social safety net.

This is an environment primed for a slide into authoritarianism, where enough officials in other branches of government are willing to cede more and more power to the executive for mutual benefit. They are willing to look like fools on national TV—thanks to competent questioning from good journalists like Cooper—to maintain the charade and avoid The Dear Leader's ire. The Republican National Committee is willing to brag about its ownership of "LyinComey.com."

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